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Olgeta Warrior 21 saw ADF and PNG Defence Force members develop deeper interoperability between the forces across communications, infectious disease and policing.
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Olgeta Warrior 21, a crucial joint training exercise between Australia and Papua New Guinea, recently came to a close with ADF members from 21 units, deepening their interoperability with members of the PNG Defence Force.
The exercise, which was scheduled to occur annually, was delayed until August due to disruptions from the COVID-19 global pandemic.
The exercise drew together members from the Army’s 3rd Brigade Headquarters, 3rd Combat Service Support Battalion, 3rd Combat Engineer Regiment, 4th and 20th Regiments of the Royal Australian Artillery, the ADF Malaria and Infectious Disease Institute, 1st Intelligence Battalion and the 1st Military Police Battalion to form the Olgeta Warrior Mobile Training Team.
Throughout the exercise, members of the Olgeta Warrior MTT coached courses in combat signals, environmental health, preventative medicine, tactical intelligence, driver training, UAV operations and military police training to their PNG counterparts.
Defence expects that the delivery of the courses would better enable PNGDF to enhance their operational capabilities.
“The reception from our PNGDF counterparts was very positive and very welcoming,” MTT Commander Major Wyatt Frazer, of 3CSSB said.
“Not only have we been involved in delivering training, we have also had the opportunity to engage in cultural experiences such as being invited to Independence Day celebrations and being welcomed into the community to take part in traditional feasts.
“There is a very strong and obvious bond between our two countries, which can be seen at all levels.”
In fact, MAJ Frazer lived in PNG as a child, with his grandfather serving in the country during World War II and his father again in the 1970s and 1980s, illustrating the enduring connection between Australia and her northern neighbour.
“I lived in PNG in the late 1980s as a child when dad was posted here, and I absolutely loved it,” MAJ Frazer said.
“Twenty years later, I came back on the same posting for three years with my own family.
“Coming back again on the MTT has just been wonderful.
“For me, many people in the PNGDF are like family and the place feels like home.”
Amazingly, MAJ Frazer wasn’t the only service member with connections to the country.
Bombardier Liam Cohran, UAV instructor from the 20th Regiment RAA also has family links with PNG.
“I was involved in delivering technical training in UAVs, which are being used to support operations along the PNG border and in the highlands,” BDR Cochrane said.
“The PNGDF is doing a lot at the moment to prevent transnational crime and enhance security in their border region.
“The UAV course directly supports their capability to conduct these operations.
“Due to the fact that we have worked with the PNGDF for decades, we are able to seamlessly integrate with their forces and their personnel are extremely receptive to the training we provide.”
According to Defence, most of the MTT returned to Australia in October.
[Related: Army personnel recall harrowing Kabul evacuation experience]
